Monthly Archives: January 2017

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Paw… Cookie… Yeah!!!

 

 

Over the course of almost three years Buster and Max have been on the short end of the stick for a lot of famous incidents. There’s the Meatball Massacre, the Christmas Catastrophe and the time Jax let Buster and Max outside in a driving snow storm without us knowing… poor dogs turned into real life Four legged Olafs.

But the thing is these guys were here long before Jackson… and honestly I’ve cleaned more Buster and Max pee and poop then I’ve cleaned up from Jackson. These guys are a huge part of Jackson’s life and from day one, they’ve been extremely protective of him.

Meanwhile, Jackson has tried to ride Buster like he was a camel and has attempted many WWF finishing moves on poor Max. Both dogs have nubby tails, yet Jackson is still able to yank on them and the fact that Buster’s ears are still attached to his head is a miracle.

The thing is though, Jackson has learned how to be patient, caring and at times remorseful through his relationship with his “brothers”. It’s been, at times stressful, but for the most part it’s been so very rewarding to watch my son and two dogs interact and enjoy each other’s company.

 

They say a dog is mans best friend… but I’d venture to say that once a child comes along… a dog is a boy’s best friend. (Especially this little boy and “Di-Di-Dah and Dah”).

 

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#NoPackNo


If you play a good game and you get beat by a better team you live with it. But to get this far and have so much fun… teaching your kid to say Go Pack Go when that literally accounts for 85% of his vocabulary literally is just an amazing feeling. 

A couple of years ago we were about 13 seconds away from the Super Bowl only to just need an onside kick recovery, and then to watch it not happen was heart breaking.   Everyone has their opinion, I guess.  I’m just not sure which is worse.  Watching a last second loss in that fashion years ago… or watching this tragedy unfold from the first drive of the game. 

I just want to watch a Packers Super Bowl win with my son.  Either way… Packers Owner and Packers fan for life. 

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Survey Says…

Everyday is a sunny day because of you.

Those of you that read this blog religiously (hell let’s face it, those of you who have read this blog once or twice) know that my take here isn’t to publicize my opinions on the rights or wrongs on raising a child, nor is it for me to take a stand on recent events or political ideologies currently in the media… I’m more of a “can you believe this actually happened” kind of writer… a mediocre story teller if you will.

With that in mind, I recently read an article that was sent to me about the relationship between parenting and happiness. The article was based on two schools of thought. The first based in part on a 2004 study by Nobel prize-winning economist Danny Kahneman in which he stated that academia has long believed that parenting “is a driver of unhappiness.” The studies conducted and reviewed don’t necessarily say that parenting makes you unhappy, but that parenting doesn’t actually make you happier. Part of the study surveyed almost 1000 parents and found that child care ranked sixteenth in pleasurability out of nineteen activities. (Among things they preferred to parenting: preparing food, watching TV, exercising, talking on the phone, napping, shopping, housework).  HOUSEWORK!!!!!!

I mean don’t get me wrong there are times where I wish I could just binge watch an entire season of The Wire without having to hear my son tell me he wants to watch Bubble Guppies or that he wants some more apple juice. But to say that my life hasn’t been improved by having my son around would be ludicrous.

Maybe it’s not perfect every second, but as a whole, evaluating what my son has ADDED to my life is immeasurable. In a 2013 interview NPR science correspondent Shankar Vedantam, says “there’s a difference between happiness measured on a moment-to-moment level and happiness measured at a larger level”. No cleaning puke and potty training does not rank up there with seeing your favorite band live in concert and certainly pales in comparison to eating ice cream out of the container and watching a whole movie on Netflix without interruption. But, according to Vedantam, parents report “significantly more meaning in their lives than non-parents even though on a day-to-day basis parenting may be a grind.”

I guess for me, I really don’t need any scientific research or studies to tell me my life is infinitely better since my son was born. Then again it’s nice to know that there is some consensus of how stressful parenting can be… but overall how absolutely rewarding it can be as well.

Elton John said it perfectly: “I hope you don’t mind… That I put down in words… How wonderful life is while you’re in the world.”

Credit: NPR.org. Does Having Children Make You Happier? February 2013.

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First Grade Puke Stories

When you teach first grade, encountering children vomiting becomes commonplace. It’s hard for others to understand the magnitude of the puke stories us first grade teachers have. We hold them closely and guard them, because we aren’t always sure if anyone can relate to what we’ve seen. Teaching primary grade students is kind of like being part of a secret society… no one knows the things we’ve seen. 

As I’ve said encountering children throwing as an elementary school administrator is an almost every day event in the first grade. As a result, I have countless puking stories… but nothing compares to this “superbug” as they call it, that has finally landed at my house. 

I’m not sure what to do anymore with this stomach bug. It’s everywhere. It’s literally everywhere and it’s invaded my home. It’s Disgusting and terrifying: It’s stressful to take care of a child who is vomiting. Not only is it going to be entirely horrifying and disgusting to remove and clean chunks from his vomit-laden pillow, taggie, sheets, and clothing, it’s also terrifying to provide support to him because I don’t know exactly what to do for him (let alone because you i get equally uneasy about catching the said vomiting stomach bug). 

It hurts to see your own child sick. And it’s awful having to provide care while working over an hour away… because that care consists of calling to check in. But this morning was tough… watching him lurch forward as he cried “boo-boo” and pointed to him stomach was enough to make even the most experienced first grade teacher cry… and then hurl themselves.  But after getting puked on while wearing my suit for work today… I knew this stomach bug was different. 

This morning there was a trail of puke from Jacksons room, to the bedroom, to the bathroom and down the stairs. Honestly, it got to a point where I just stood him on a towel and let him have at it. The poor kid just standing there covered in puke on a bath towel looking like he hit too much turbulence during a bad magic carpet ride.  

I guess we are going to have to continue to see this one through… thank god we have plenty of magic carpets to ride… and use to mop up chunks… I’ll survive though… this ain’t my first rodeo… I was a first grade teacher.  

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An Unexpected Trip

A couple of weeks ago I got a scary call.  We’ve been to the hospital before… heck Jax was born in a hospital… shocking development I know.  But two Mondays ago an unexpected emergency trip by ambulance to the hospital was one of the scariest days of my life. Getting a call from Stephanie at 4:00, while I am at work and over an hour away, in which she tells me that Jackson is on his way to CCMC by ambulance was not the news any parent wants to receive. Needless to say my ride to Hartford was the longest and shortest ride back from work I’ve had since I started in my new School. 

  • Temp: 102 (98.6 is normal)
  • Oxygen Levels: 81 (98 is normal)
  • Heart Rate: 204 (60-100 is normal

When a pediatrician sees these vitals and then immediately calls an ambulance to take your son to the closest Children’s Medical Center, there is every reason to panic. Seeing your child struggle to breathe has to be one of the most horrible things to watch. Stephanie and Grammy stayed calm for the most part… I on the other hand was close to having a heart attack not knowing what was going on as I sped through traffic on the busiest highway in Connecticut during rush hour. Somehow I made it to the hospital before the ambulance did… flashing lights and sirens and still took them longer to get to the hospital then me… driving from an hour away.

I paced and wandered and looked and waited and paced and paced and paced. Clear and happy thoughts were not something that were floating around in my head. I was nervous… I was scared, but mostly I felt helpless. You have this little human who you are in charge of, you are responsible for and who looks to you for help. 

I spent a lot of that night “trying” to be funny. I made some jokes and laughed a bit with my son. But the humor was just a shield from pain, a costume that showed a stoic face to project a cool, calm and collected parent. But beneath that was hiding the true sadness and fear of not knowing what was going on. Spending most of my life as the “fixer” makes situations like these even more difficult to deal with. 

No this wasn’t (or didn’t at least seem to be) a life threatening visit to the hospital, but anxiety still runs rampant at times like these. At least for me. Although Jackson is almost three at this point, there are still so many firsts to still deal with. This first ambulance ride to the hospital is one I won’t soon forget. 

Jackson is fine, recovering from pneumonia and a viral infection in his lungs… (nothing lots of fluids, lots of Peppa Pig reruns and extra hugs couldn’t take care of). We wound up getting out of the hospital around midnight that night. As I reflect on how lucky we are to have our little man back up to speed and feeling good again, I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you how freaked out I was at the time. 

Everyone from the EMTs to the staff at CCMC was AMAZING… caring, responsive and understanding. They catered on Jax in his elf PJs like he was a king. Whether it was bringing him toys to play with, crayons or sneaking him extra apple juice and graham crackers… thank you for caring for my son… and keeping this dad calm and out of the hospital himself. 

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New Year’s Eve

If you know me, you know I’m far from a Debbie Downer. I’m usually the life of the party, the one with the grand plans for a great time… yes I’m a pessimist by heart, but deep down I know things always seem to find a way to work themselves out (for the most part). I live in some sort of reverse psychology universe. Yet for some reason, the “holiday” that is supposed to be about eternal positivity, new outlooks and second chances makes me want to barf. 

I have so many amazing things to be grateful for over the past year. Although it’s brought many hardships, scary truths and countless trips to the hospital and cemetery, I’ve also seen my son grow into an amazing little boy… so full of life and happiness. It’s hard to have a negative outlook when you constantly hear the cutest little laugh known to man. It’s also easy to be grateful when you love what you do. They say if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. I feel that way each and every morning I’m driving to my new job. 

Yet, even with all that… I still hate New Year’s Eve. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent my entire life as an educator and to me and the real New year starts in September and ends in June. I guess it’s possible that it’s because of the insane amount of people who forget the damn apostrophe on “Year.” It’s New Year’s Eve. Even my first graders know that! Or maybe I’m just a New Year Scrooge.

I’m not glad 2016 is over, nor do I care that 2017 is here. If New Year’s Eve 2016 is like any other night I’ve experienced lately, especially now that I’m a parent, I’ll be in bed by 8:30. Here’s hoping everyone just does their own thing this year or month or whenever. Whatever you do… I’ll be over here doing me or at least doing what the little guy wants to do! 

PS: Hey 2017, bring me a Packers Super Bowl victory and I’ll quickly change my tune. ❤